the prophet peace be upon him returned to makkah after the people of taif had met him with disdain and ridicule. he peace be upon him entered it under the protection of al-mut`im ibn `adiyy.

in the midst of this tense atmosphere following denial, boycott and persecution, almighty allah intended to support his messenger peace be upon him , so he ihonoured him with the israa' and mi`raaj. he ishowed him some of his greatest signs and proofs of his grandeur and ability in order to strengthen him for confrontation of the disbelievers.

the israa' was his journey by night from al-masjid al-haraam to al-masjid al-aqsa in jerusalemand his return in the same night.

the mi`raaj was his ascent to the heavens where he peace be upon him met with the prophets, saw worlds of the unseen and where the five daily prayers were made obligatory.

this event served to distinguish the true believers, as some of those who had entered islam left it then, and some went to abu bakr as-siddeeq –may allah be pleased with him- and said to him, "your friend claims that he was taken at night to jerusalem." abu bakr -may allah be pleased with him- said, "did he peace be upon himsay that?" they said, "yes." he said, "if he peace be upon him said that then he has spoken the truth." they said, "do you believe that he went to jerusalemand returned before morning?" he said, "yes. indeed, i believe what is stranger than that; i believe him about the information that comes down to him morning and evening." this is why abu bakr was called "as-sideeq."[1]

rejection of the prophet peace be upon him by the quraysh and their obstruction of his mission made him peace be upon him turn to other arab tribes. after his return from taif he peace be upon him began to offer his message to the tribes during pilgrimage seasons; he peace be upon him would explain islam to them and seek their support in enabling him to convey the words of almighty allah. some of them responded maliciously and others positively. among those whose response was most hostile was bani hanifah, the tribe of musaylimah the liar.[2]

and among those to whom he peace be upon him offered his message was a group of arabs of the aus tribe from yathrib.[3]when he spoke to them they recognized his description from what the jews had described and said to one another, "by allah, he is the prophet predicted by the jews, and they must not come to him before we do." six of them believed, and they were the means by which islam spread in madinah. those six were: as`ad ibn zurarah, `auf ibn al-harith, rafi` ibn malik, qutbah ibn `aamir ibn hadeedah, `oqbah bin `aamir and sa`d ibn ar-rabi`. they left after promising to come back the following year.

the next year, in the twelfth year of prophethood, the first pledge of `aqabah took place. twelve men, ten from aus and two from khazraj and among them five of the original six, pledged to the prophet peace be upon him their faith, and to abandon polytheism and sins, do good deeds and speak only the truth. then they went back to madinah and allah iincreased islam therein until no home remained in which the prophet peace be upon him was not being mentioned.

in the following year, the thirteenth of prophethood, the second pledge of `aqabah took place. a delegation of seventy men and two women came to allah's messenger peace be upon him and declared their acceptance of islam. they pledged to obey him in times of vitality and laziness, to spend [for allah's cause] in times of ease and hardship, to order what is right and forbid what is wrong, to stand up for the cause of almighty allah not fearing the blame of a critic and to support and defend the prophet peace be upon him.

then he peace be upon him asked them to appoint from among themselves twelve men to be leaders among their people, so they appointed nine from khazraj and three from aus. the prophet peace be upon him told them,

"you are my sponsors among your people as the disciples were for jesus, son of mary, and i am a sponsor for my people."

after that they left for madinah and islam spread among its inhabitants, may allah be pleased with them. that was before the prophet's peace be upon him blessed hijrah.